


Always Got Your Back

by SierraWinchester



Series: JatP, my own personal universe [8]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: She loves them, thats about it, the boys love her, this is garbage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 15:27:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30074337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SierraWinchester/pseuds/SierraWinchester
Summary: Three times her phantoms were around when things went wrong.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters
Series: JatP, my own personal universe [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145687
Comments: 14
Kudos: 42





	Always Got Your Back

**Author's Note:**

> I’m burnt out. But brain says more. So I continue to cry while I churn out crappy writing. 🙃

Her boys were always there for her. They’d been the ones to pull her from her head long grief and allow her to grow closer to her mom, to sing again. They were there when she was happy, when she was singing her heart out, and when she was so excited she could scream. (And she did, much to Alex’s chagrin.) So it only made sense they’d be around for the other thing, too. The scarier things that she was so glad she didn’t have to go through alone. 

Reggie.  
Luke and Alex had stayed at home, working on some melody that was desperately bugging them. She’d decided she wanted to head down to the store a few blocks away and pick up some cocoa powder so she could make the boys her mom’s special recipe of hot chocolate. Most days eating was still a fifty-fifty shot, but it was worth it. 

Reggie had decided to tag along and Julie was glad to have the company, even if the people passing by thought she was laughing at nothing. 

“So, then, Luke grabbed Alex’s hand and he dragged him away from the touch zone like he was on fire, right? And no one noticed because he’s Luke, but Alex was upset because he’s almost touched the stingray and he’d been working up to it all day! So, Alex was about to yell, but Luke shut him up by showing him the baby octopus he’d stuffed in his bag.”

Julie laughed at Reggie’s rambling, the story warming her up in the winter air. She wasn’t sure how they’d gotten to this topic, but she was glad they had. Any stories about their antics when they were alive were always welcome, especially if they involved their questionable decisions. 

“So, Alex starts freaking out, obviously. And it starts to draw attention, so to distract everyone from coming over, Luke just pulls Alex in and kisses him. Everyone immediately turned away, thinking it was just Luke being Luke again and—“

Reggie’s words die on his lips as Julie steps off the sidewalk and into the crosswalk. It’s only a split second of slipping on the patch of ice she didn’t see before she lost her footing completely. Julie saw Reggie dive out to grab her, but he was too slow, and she landed on the curb with a sickening crunch. 

The pain trickled in slowly and Julie eased off her arm, thinking it was only bruised. When her weight was fully off of it, though, she could see it was bent at a funny angle and the pain suddenly rocketed up. 

Reggie was beside her in moments, eyes wide and panicked. “Julie, Julie, are you okay??”

Julie hissed at the pain, eyes tearing up and she quickly cradled her arm to her chest, still half in the crosswalk. “It hurts...I think..I think I broke it.”

Reggie’s eyes somehow widened further and he cursed under his breath. “Okay… okay… What do we do?” One look at Julie and he decided he needed to take charge. “Okay, uh, we call your dad, right?”

Julie nodded slowly, the tears slipping down her face uncontrollably. God Reggie hated to see her cry. “Okay. We call Ray. We got this. Can I grab your phone?”

Julie nodded and he pulled it from her jacket pocket, dialing the number easily. But he was hesitant when Ray answered brightly. Julie reached out and Reggie quickly frowned and pulled back, speaking into the phone. 

“Hey, Ray, it’s Reggie!” Okay. A good start.

“Oh, hey, Reggie. What’s up, buddy? Steal Julie’s phone while she shops?”

“Oh, uh...no…Actually, we didn’t make it to the store…” And in true Reggie rambling fashion the story poured out with barely a breath in between. “So Julie stepped off the curb and she slipped on some ice and now we think that she broke her arm and I’m not really sure if she wants to walk home all the way because I broke my arm once and that hurt really badly, but Bobby bought me ice cream so—-“

Ray cut Reggie off, “Mijo, take a breath!” When he was sure Reggie had, he spoke calmly. “Where are you guys and is Julie okay?”

Reggie rattled off the street names and then Julie spoke, voice a bit shaky, “I’m okay, Papí. Just hurts.”

“Okay, I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Reggie, keep an eye on her, please!”

Reggie confirmed he would and then he helped pull her up onto the curb fully. Then he smiled at her, forcing it to be as bright as before. “I know this sucks really bad...but one good thing comes out of this.”

“What’s that?” Julie asked, using her good hand to wipe at her face. 

“We’re gonna draw all over your cast! It’ll be the prettiest cast ever!” Reggie promised and Julie can’t help but to smile. A cast covered in her doodles and her boy’s drawings? Yeah. That wouldn’t be so bad. 

Alex  
Julie had never suffered from panic attacks before. But then again, until this year she’d never met a ghost either. (Had she??) So, life was a bit unpredictable sometimes. Still, she was surprised when she felt her heart rate speed up and her breathing hitch in her chest. She’d seen this enough times with Alex to know what was happening. 

She was quick to sit on the floor and try to work through the breathing techniques she knew, but focusing was horribly difficult all of a sudden. 

“Hey, Julie, Luke and I were wondering—-“ Alex cut off, taking one look at Julie and dropping to his knees in front of her. 

“Hey, hey. Are you okay?” He asked softly, hands not reaching out yet. 

She glared weakly, still unable to catch her breath. 

“Can I touch you?” Alex asked, voice focused and calm. 

When Julie nodded he reached out and grabbed her hand, placing it on his chest. “You’re going to follow along with my breathing, okay? Just try to copy me. It’s going to be okay.”

And with that Alex began to do exaggerated inhales and exhales, his chest rising against her hand with each motion. Julie did her best to follow, struggling less and less each time. When her breathing was steadier, Alex smiled slightly. 

“What’s the first song we sang together?”

“Alex, what?” Julie asked, confused and still shaking. 

“Answer my questions, Jules. I got you. Don’t worry.”

She heaved out a sigh. “We sang bright together first. On stage, at school.”

Alex nodded with a smile, “Who’s your best friend?”

“Flynn?”

“What song does Reggie want Luke to play?”

“Home is where my horse is?”

“Which one of us introduced ourselves to you first.” 

After a moment of thought, Julie replied, “Luke.”

Alex smiled at her, hand still on top of hers as it rested against his dead heart, “How do you feel?”

“A lot better, actually...Thanks.” She smiled slightly. “What was up with the game of 20 questions?”

“Focusing technique. Helps you think about things other than panic.”

Julie smiled and locked that away in the file in her head specific to Alex Mercer. “Thanks, Alex…”

“Anytime. Though I don’t recommend making panic attacks a habit. They’re no fun.”

Julie laughed as he helped her up. She felt shaky and drained. “Yeah, I don’t plan to.”

Luke  
The therapist appointment was only routine. It wasn’t anything special, nothing to worry about. But for some reason the upcoming appointment made Julie nervous and she’d been biting her nails nonstop for the last three days. 

Pulling her hand from her face for the hundredth time, Luke frowned, “Jules, why are you so nervous? You said it yourself, it’s just a check in. Dr. Turner just wants to make sure you’re doing okay.”

She sighed, keeping her hand in Luke’s. (It’s only so she stopped hurting herself, not for any other reason, she swears.) “I don’t know. Maybe because I’m doing better for the first time in a long time but it’s because I have three dead boys living in my garage?”

“Yeah, maybe don’t tell him that.” Luke laughed, twining their fingers together. 

She groaned, leaning her head down until it hit the piano keys, the sound discordant and loud. “Helpful, Luke, real helpful.”

He chuckled, smiling down at her. “If you want, I can go with you?” 

Julie quickly sat up, eyes wide. “You would? Really?”

Luke shrugged. “Yeah, why not? It’s not like he’ll be able to see me.”

Julie nearly knocked the two of them off the bench when she hugged him, burying her face in his neck. “Thank you thank you thank you!”

Luke chuckled and wondered why it was such a big deal. But if this was the reaction, he didn’t mind. 

The therapist appointment was the next day and it wasn’t nearly as bad as Julie though. Luke covertly held her hand under the jacket on her lap the entire time. Dr. Turner first asked about life in general, moving into friends and family, and finally the band she was in. 

Julie didn’t mean to, but she wound up rambling for nearly half her appointment about the band. It started off general, just about their music and their gigs and the Orpheum which had led to so many new opportunities. But over time she spoke about each of her boys individually. 

She spoke about how Reggie was a dog personified and how he was all bright smiles and happiness. He was pure joy swaddled in a leather jacket and he always knew just what to say when she was sad. 

Alex was a ball of anxiety, but he knew the best cures for midnight sadness and two am giggles. He knew just what hoodie made Julie feel like home and exactly how to bribe Ray into a few more hours of practice even though she had school the next day. 

Luke...Luke was her safe harbor. He helped her write music, express her feelings. Luke was an anchor for her, a lighthouse in the storm. And her cheeks heated up as she tried to explain just how important he was, not only to her, but to everyone around him. 

By the end of the appointment Julie felt lighter and Luke felt like he’d seen Julie in a brighter light than before. Somehow, it only made him fall harder.


End file.
